Ainsworth slams Trident position

Defence Secretary Bob Ainsworth has attacked as "ridiculous" the Liberal Democrats' position over Trident.

Mr Ainsworth claimed the party's policy of saying no to a like-for-like replacement of the nuclear missile system would leave Britain with a "cheap and ineffective" deterrent.

His comments came as the spotlight turned more sharply on Liberal Democrat policies following Nick Clegg's widely praised performance in the first party leaders' debate.

Today's YouGov daily survey for The Sun put the Lib Dems on 30% to Labour's 28%, with the Conservatives in the lead on 33%.

The Tories have launched a sustained attack on the Liberal Democrats' "eccentric" policies in a bid to offset the impact of Mr Clegg's performance in the televised debate.

In an interview with the BBC, Lib Dem defence spokesman Nick Harvey said it was "absurd" to decide now that Britain was "absolutely determined" to be a nuclear power from 2030 - the time he said when the current Trident system will expire.

He hoped instead that "significant headway" could be made before that date on moves towards multilateral disarmament.

The party's policy on Trident rules out a replacement for the submarine-based weapons system, which the Lib Dems say will cost £100 billion. Both Labour and the Tories have pledged to replace it.

Mr Harvey told BBC Radio 4's Today programme: "The existing Trident is there, it is paid for, it is going to work for the next 20 years.

"What we are saying is that it is absurd to decide now that we are absolutely determined to be a nuclear power from 2030 through to 2060."